Explaining

How to spell explaining

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce explaining

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does explaining mean?

1. verbMaking something clear or understandable by describing it in detail.

Explaining in a sentence

• The manager spent an hour explaining the new expenses policy to the team.

• She kept explaining the directions until everyone knew the route.

Where does explaining come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb explanare, which literally meant 'to make flat or smooth' and so, figuratively, 'to make clear'. It was built from the prefix ex- meaning 'out' or 'fully' and the adjective planus meaning 'flat' or 'level', the same root that gives us 'plain' and 'plane'. English took the verb 'explain' in the late fifteenth century, and the spelling settled with the 'ai' of 'plain' rather than the 'a' of 'plane', a quiet reminder of the flatness at its heart. The '-ing' form simply adds the ordinary English participle ending to make 'explaining'. Because the connection to 'plain' is hidden by pronunciation, the middle vowel is the one spot writers sometimes second-guess.

How the word is built

• ex- (out, fully)
• plain (from Latin planus: flat, level)
• -ing (present participle suffix)